How many World Cup goals has Kylian Mbappe scored? How close is France star to Lionel Messi, and the record?
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Updated 18/12/2022 at 17:49 GMT
How many World Cup goals has Kylian Mbappe scored? Who is France's all-time leading goalscorer? Who is the top scorer in World Cup history? For answers to those questions and more, you've come to the right place! Mbappe is hoping to fire France to a successful title defence after bagging five goals across their opening six games – but can he also finish Qatar 2022 as the tournament's top scorer?
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Kylian Mbappe is spearheading France's charge to defend their World Cup title after another electric tournament in Qatar. The striker may have been kept quiet in the quarter-final win over England, but he remains France's talisman after some devastating displays.
Many observers predicted France to struggle after they arrived at the first winter World Cup in difficult form, having finished third in their UEFA Nations League group behind Croatia and Denmark. They also needed little reminder of what happened the last time they tried to defend their world title in 2002 when they went out in the group stage.
But Didier Deschamps' side have hit their groove when it matters most, despite the absence of key players including Karim Benzema, Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante. France are now facing Argentina in the 2022 World Cup final on December 18 as they bid for back-to-back victories at the tournament.
And Mbappe has been their main man, showcasing his devastating speed, intelligence, trickery and finishing to leave France just one win from more glory.
So how impressive is Mbappe's international goal haul? Let's take a look...
How many goals has Kylian Mbappe scored for France?
He's set to turn 24 just two days after the World Cup final, but Mbappe has already struck 36 times for France, having scored a hat-trick in the Qatar 2022 final, becoming only the second man ever to do so in a World Cup final after England's Sir Geoff Hurst.
Olivier Giroud, 36, surpassed Thierry Henry as his country's all-time leading goalscorer in Qatar and sits on 53 goals ahead of the final with Argentina - but it seems inevitable he will be caught by Mbappe.
How many World Cup goals has Kylian Mbappe scored for France?
Mbappe has only featured in two World Cups, but he already has twelve World Cup goals for France.
He scored four, including one in the final, as France won the trophy in 2018. He currently has eight in 2022 going ahead in his battle with Argentina star Lionel Messi as the tournament's top scorer.
Mbappe didn't score in the quarter-finals against England or in the semi-final win over Morocco, but he scored a hat-trick in the final.
Who has the most World Cup goals in history?
It's not Pele. Nor Diego Maradona. It's not even the original (Brazilian) Ronaldo. Nope, this accolade is held by Germany legend Miroslav Klose with a whopping 16 goals.
Klose's compatriot Gerd Muller grabbed the record in 1974 with his 14th goal coming in the final for victorious West Germany, a goal that saw him surpass France’s Just Fontaine, who scored a remarkable 13 goals in just six games in 1958.
Ronaldo took top spot in 2006 when he netted his 15th World Cup goal, before Klose set a new target of 16 by scoring in Germany’s memorable 7-1 victory against Brazil in the 2014 semi-finals.
Of current players (*), Messi - with 12 - has the highest tally at World Cups, putting him joint-fifth on the all-time list. Mbappe is on 11, and should have plenty more opportunities to add to his tally.
| Player | Country | World Cup matches | World Cup goals |
| Miroslav Klose | Germany | 24 | 16 |
| Ronaldo | Brazil | 19 | 15 |
| Gerd Muller | Germany | 13 | 14 |
| Just Fontaine | France | 6 | 13 |
| Pele | Brazil | 14 | 12 |
| Lionel Messi* | Argentina | 26 | 12 |
| Kylian Mbappe* | France | 18 | 12 |
| Jurgen Klinsmann | Germany | 17 | 11 |
Who has scored the most World Cup goals for France?
Incredibly, only one French player in history - Just Fontaine - has scored more World Cup goals than Mbappe.
Fontaine's 13 goals all came at the 1958 World Cup, scoring in every match - including four in the third-place play-off win over West Germany.
With eleven goals, Mbappe is closing in quickly and, all being well, can expect to overtake his compatriot at the 2026 World Cup in North America.
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